Announcing our Launch Pad Reading: LILY IN LOVE

Mission to (dit)Mars, a theatre arts collective serving Queens artists is thrilled to continue our popular Launch Pad Reading Series with Lily in Love, a new play by Kristine M. Reyes.

In Lily in Love, Lily is a good Catholic Filipina daughter who’s always known exactly what to do with her life — until she falls in love with a woman. Lily’s life just got complicated.

Playwright Kristine M. Reyes

Describing the play, Mission to (dit)Mars co-founder Kari Bentley-Quinn says “With Lily in Love, Kristine gives us an intelligent and empathic insight on sexuality and family. It is an engaging and modern work that will make the audience feel close to the story.”

Meredith Packer (co-founder) adds “Kristine’s ability to take harsh truths about family and acceptance and allow the audience to feel both the weight of sadness and the relief of laughter in the situations presented is a gift for all who see her work come to life.”

“There are times in everyone’s life when a romantic partner has to interact with the in-laws and Kristine creates immediately recognizable moments of both discomfort and familiarity” adds co-founder Laura Pestronk. “We’re transported back to those uncomfortable moments we all know…when we regressed back to our own childhood interactions with our parents.”

Kristine Reyes was recently accepted into the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program and is a current member of the Propulsion Lab, Mission to (dit)Mars’ bi-monthly writers group. Kristine currently resides in Astoria.

The cast includes Mia Katigbak (Good Person of Szechwan), Christine Lee (Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love), Krystal Seli, Sarah Matteucci (Sex with Robots), and Johnny Lin. The reading is directed by Colette Robert (EST, All Systems Go: 2)

This free play reading will be held at The Secret Theatre located at 4402 23rd Street in Long Island City on Monday, February 16th at 8pm.

The Launch Pad is a free reading series of new plays by Queens playwrights. The mission objective of The Launch Pad is to serve as a testing ground for Queens based playwrights who need to hear their plays out loud. Because Mission to (dit)Mars was co-founded by playwrights and directors, we understand implicitly how to answer those needs. Through this program, the utmost care is taken to foster a safe and productive environment in order to propel the play forward.

Our mission is to provide Queens-based theater artists with a home for new play development, as well as to serve the residents of the borough by providing free or low-cost theatrical events. We believe strongly in developing a network of artists through cultivating local talent, and by fostering collaborations and relationships through developmental labs, classes, and social events. We believe that Queens is a premier destination for the arts in New York City, and we hope to highlight the rich community of diverse, talented, and underrepresented voices in the borough.